Glasses Buddies
by imafangirlforever
Summary: She didn't know what to think of him. One moment he could be an immature idiot, the next she felt like he might actually be her friend. Ruri x Shuu
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** ** Hi, and thanks for checking out my story! I feel so guilty right now while I have so many ongoing stuff to do, but I already typed this up, so I decided to publish it. This will probably be a one or two-shot.**

**Disclaimer: You are reading a fanfiction. Repeat, _fan_fiction. It implies you and I are fans. And if we are fans, we know I do not own Nisekoi.**

* * *

><p>Ruri didn't understand him. Why couldn't he leave her alone like all the other boys in their class did? She had told him so, once. Instead of melting under her glare, as everybody (minus Kosaki) did, he just laughed and teased her about her glasses. He and her were often the most perceptive of their little group of friends, although she couldn't understand how he could be so lighthearted and still be mature (at least, Kosaki claimed he was mature. Ruri didn't think so).<p>

Kosaki Onodera, her best friend. Her mouth twitched slightly, almost forming a smile as she thought about her kind friend. Kosaki had introduced her to a world of bliss and happiness that only friendship could give. No one had noticed her smile, and she quickly rearranged her expression into her usual poker-face.

It was too late, she realized as she saw a certain boy watching her.

"Oh, and so my Ruri-chan is _smiling_?" he grinned lazily as others inched away from the scene slowly to not be caught in the coming storm, ignoring her growing impatience.

"I am not," she said shortly, staring at him, slightly perplexed.

Yes, Shuu Maiko was definitely a weird boy.

"Why are you smiling? Come on, tell me! We're Glasses Buddies, right?"

She ignored him, instead facing forward looking at the front of the classroom.

"Ruri-chan!"

She was tempted to kick him in the face, but resisted the temptation. No matter how many times she would kick him, he would always get up again.

It was slightly annoying, how persistent he was. But in a way... it was sort of admirable. Not like she would ever say that out loud.

"Ruuuurri-chan," he whined. "Talk to me."

"Shut up, Maiko," she snapped, her temper flaring.

He brightened, "She _responded_! Hey, Raku! She responded!"

"And what did she say, exactly?" Raku sighed exasperatedly; his gaze still on her short-haired best friend who she knew returned his crush.

"… for me to shut up," he said, sounding almost dejected. But then, his happy-go-lucky smile returned and the bell rang, signaling for class to start.

Ruri almost sighed in relief, but knew her silence would be short-lived. Instead of dwelling on the subject, she pulled out her notebook and tried to concentrate on the lesson.

Keyword: _tried_.

The annoying boy just simply _wouldn't_ give up, and he continued to throw a series of notes and paper-airplanes at her, all the while still smiling and paying attention to the teacher.

"Maiko," she said dangerously, craning her head so she could glare at the boy, "Stop that now."

"Stop what?" he asked innocently, giving her a (fake) sweet smile.

The teacher, Kyoko-sensei, noticed their actions. "Ah, young love," she said dreamily, starting to reminisce about her 'younger' days.

"It's not like that, sensei!" they spoke unanimously denying her (indirect) accusation, jumping out of their chairs. She suddenly felt ashamed at her sudden outburst, and quickly sat down. Ruri's gaze settled on Shuu for a second, and she was perplexed at what she saw. Shuu's eyes filled with… remorse? Jealousy? Sadness?

As always, she couldn't tell.

"Maiko, sit down," she told him.

"Hmm?" he glanced down at her, and complied.

His gaze never left Kyoko-sensei.

* * *

><p>Something was up. Ruri knew that as soon as she heard Kyoko-sensei was moving. She had seen that brief moment of panic Shuu had displayed before disguising it as a brilliant smile. He was chatting with Raku as Ruri was leaning on her desk, watching him.<p>

He loved her, she realized. But he couldn't do anything about it now.

When he had told her of his "silly" crush, she had dismissed it as another attempt to make her feel sorry for him.

But his feelings were real.

He shouldn't be bottling up his feelings like that. Ruri knew that nothing good ever happened from keeping feelings hidden. The bottle would burst, and the feelings would come rushing out.

She quickly frowned when she realized she was worried about him. Her, _Ruri, _worried? She wanted to laugh at her stupidity. Of _course_ Shuu loved Kyoko-sensei. Who was she to judge? Maybe he didn't return her feelings-

She paused. Her feelings?

What were her feelings for Shuu?

She bit her lip, frustrated. He was hot-headed, perverted, and an idiot… but he had his nice moments. He was quite observant, and could be surprisingly mature when he wanted to. He was… alright.

They locked eyes for a moment, and she felt heat rush to her cheeks and quickly turned away.

Ruri wanted to bang her head on a wall. What was she thinking? Why was she being so... _different_?

It was his fault.

* * *

><p>Ruri sighed and shook her head. She had a headache. Today was Kyoko-sensei's last day at school. She felt a little remorse at the thought. She was a good teacher, and it was a shame marriage had to end her career like that.<p>

She imagined Kyoko-sensei in a beautiful white, fancy wedding dress. For a moment, Ruri thought of herself in a wedding dress. She, like all girls, thought that wedding dresses were beautiful.

She suddenly blushed and quickly shook her head, as if to dispel the thought. She glanced over to Shuu for a moment, and quickly averted her gaze as Shuu turned to look at her, looking like a slightly confused puppy.

She instead turned her cool gaze to Raku and Kosaki, who were both chatting amicably.

Some people might have thought that she was cold-hearted, but Ruri just more laid-back than others, always going at her own pace. She always kept her emotions in check, to make sure not to bother anyone.

Sometimes it felt like she was in a different world from all the rest of her classmates. It felt that, although she was surrounded by people, she was alone. Ruri had always been content with her little world, but things slowly progressed…

… and she realized that she probably couldn't go back to the way things were before Kosaki came. No, that was wrong. She didn't _want_ it to go back that way.

Yet, she reflected, it seemed as if Shuu was in the same situation as well. As different as they acted, they both understood each other perfectly.

It was at these moments Ruri felt the most vulnerable.


	2. Chapter 2

**Fanfictions are for fans. Do not own.**

* * *

><p>He wasn't in class.<p>

Ruri was pretty sure she wasn't the only one to notice, but no one mentioned anything about it.

She had taken it upon herself to do the duty of delivering paperwork to the teacher's lounge alone, even though he _was_ supposed to be helping her. From outside of the window, she could see her classmates holding a banner saying "**GOODBYE, KYOKO-SENSEI**" as they waved cheerfully at their departing teacher. The black-haired woman smiled, holding the large bouquet of flowers given to her tightly.

Ruri turned away, instead focusing on the problem at hand.

Where _was_ Shuu Maiko?

* * *

><p>Shuu leaned against the fenced wall of the roof, letting out a sigh.<p>

Behind him, the sound of a door opening and shutting sounded. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his childhood friend, Raku, walk towards him with a troubled expression on his face.

He plastered on a grin, turning around to fully face his friend. "Yo, Raku! Is something up? It's rare to see you ditching class as well!"

Shuu continued rambling. "Well, doing stuff like this is good once in a while, right? But seeing how you ditched clas, you brought a game with you, didn't you? Let's play mohun, let's play!"

Raku just stared at him with the same blank expression, and Shuu felt his mask slowly crumbling.

"Looks like you're having a rough time."

His friend said it as a statement. Not a question, just a statement. Shuu felt his shoulders sag, and he nearly chuckled. Raku always knew when he was feeling down. It was just one of those things that came in a package of being best friends.

"...does it look that way?"

"Yeah."

"I see." He stared at the floor. Was he _that_ off?

Raku stared at his friend, then averted his gaze as he said, "Shuu."

This caught his attention.

"I'm going to say something a bit unnecessary right now. It's as you say, I might be a dense person. I won't understand someone's feelings unless they explicitly tell me."

Where exactly was he going with this?

"I think what you're doing is correct," Raku admitted. "It's a mature decision made with the other person in mind. But I think that you should be doing what you really want to do. I'll support you. If you're not going to do anything, then I'll support you not doing anything. But if it's necessary, I'll even push you from behind."

He couldn't possibly know how much those words impacted him.

"From behind? What are you going to push me for, Raku? I'm in the middle of the grand unveiling of my broken heart. What are you telling me to do about this love that's been over for a while now?" Shuu lied, keeping a smile on his face as he nonchalantly held out his hand in a relaxed matter. His smile faded, just a little bit. "It's fine. I don't have a single regret."

Or did he?

"I'm pretty sure even the most thickheaded person could tell that's a lie."

Shuu froze, his mind swarming. Since when was Raku able to read him like this? Since when...

_"You seem a lot more mature than the others." A smile, the smile that he had grown to fall in love with. "Don't let your youth go to waste, alright?"_

Slowly, a smile grew on his face.

Shuu knew what he had to do next.

* * *

><p><em>That damn glasses. Where'd he go, ditching class duty?<em> Ruri seethed.

_But... it is rare. Until now, he's never ditched class before._

She refused to let the worry show on her face, instead looking at her pile of papers she was holding. Something caught her eye from the end of the hallway. It was Maiko, looking even _more_ idiotic than he usually did, if that was even possible. Ruri prepared herself to give a great scolding to the boy. "Ah, hey Maiko-kun. You're duties today..."

He zoomed passed her. Her eyes widened, and she turned around, staring at the disappearing figure.

_Was that...really Maiko-kun just now?_

She made a split-second decision. "Hold these." She practically threw the papers at one of the boys in the hallways, and ran the direction Maiko was going to. Where exactly would he want to-

She nearly slapped her head. Of _course_. Kyoko-sensei. She should have known.

Even so, she couldn't help but grab an umbrella and walk outside of the school. She opened the red umbrella and put it over her head as she walked near the intersection where Kyoko-sensei was leaving.

...Maiko?

She observed the scene as a mere passerby, not daring to get closer. Maiko was standing in front of Kyoko-sensei's window, and she smiled, whispering something to him. Ruri felt her chest clench slightly, but ignored the feeling as she continued watching. Kyoko-sensei whispered one final thing to him before the car drove away.

Maiko kept standing in the rain.

Ruri started forward, about to hit him with her umbrella and tell him how _stupid_ he was not to tell her his feelings, when Kosaki stopped her. _Kosaki _of all people.

"Ruri-chan," she whispered, shaking her head.

The rain was starting to clear up, and Ruri decided to leave Maiko alone. For now.

"Come on, Kosaki. Let's go." She turned away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I was supremely happy to find this story had 5 reviews. You people are amazing. No, seriously. So I decided to continue this and stuff. If you want to know where this came from, it was chapter 85. I put a LOT more canon stuff in there. But next chapter will probably not be as canon. So..yeah. Thank you so much!**


	3. Chapter 3

Ruri had always been an efficient girl. All of her senseis told her she had lots of potential. And she knew that. With the right motivation, she could be successful in life. The only real problem with that was...well, she didn't have much motivation. She did what she liked, and what she felt was in the best interest of her friends (mainly Kosaki, although she still cared about the rest of the lot as well).

Today she was soaking wet, pulling her goggles off her head as she climbed out of the pool using the heavy metal ladder as her support. She had always liked swimming, it once she heard it was good for her health, she joined the swimming.

Swimming was always just a hobby to her.

That was probably why she didn't care much about winning or losing. This laid-back attitude was quite a contrast to her peers, and as she stepped out of the water she heard her peers excitedly chatting about how they 'would do their best to get to the nationals!'

She ignored them, as she usually did. But Ruri couldn't help but turn her head to look at the giant poster Kosaki had made with Haru.

_Aim for the nationals!_

She sighed. Swimming competitions had never been her forte. Too much nervous excitement, giggling girls, and people who were only there to win. But...she supposed it was a sufficient enough goal for now.

* * *

><p>Ruri couldn't help but feel just a <em>tiny<em> bit tense as she stood in front of the vast blue pool surrounded by bleachers. People were everywhere. Swimmers were either stretching, talking, or being massaged as they prepared for their races. Some gathered at the papers on the wall that showed their heats. She had already checked that before, after all, it was always best to be prepared.

All of her friends gathered around her, and her eyebrow twitched. She had only mentioned the swimming competition as a passing remark, but Kirisaki managed to pressure more out of her while Kosaki gave her an adorable puppy-eyed look. So of _course_ she broke and told them everything, and in the end the pair invited everyone to come.

Everyone, as in Ichijo, Tachibana, Seishiro, and _Maiko_.

And they were all now here. To watch her every move and potential failure. Well, she knew most of the girls would be too nice to do that, but she knew Maiko definitely would.

"Ehehehe, we came." Kosaki laughed, trying to lighten the mood as Ruri stared at her friends.

"I told you I didn't need any cheering," she sighed.

"But you get to go to the nationals if you win here, right? Isn't it obvious we'd cheer for you?"

"I don't really..." she started before being interrupted by everyone else.

"Look! We were up all night making this!" Kirisaki cheered, her red ribbon bouncing slightly as she held up a giant banner with Seishiro.

"Please do your best, Miyamoto-sama!" Seishiro added.

"...I appreciate your enthusiasm." _But that isn't really necessary_, she added in her mind.

"I just came here to be with Raku-sama. I'll still be cheering for you, though," Tachibana said, not minding the bluntness or rudeness of her comment as she snuggled close to her crush. Raku gulped, trying to get the red-head off of him as he shot her a small smile.

"Thank you." How else was she supposed to respond to that? She turned to the only other person who hadn't spoken. "So? Why are you here as well?"

"Well, it's my dear little Ruri-chan after all~!"

"Go home," she deadpanned.

"Anyway, Kosaki, are you sure you have the leisure to be cheering for someone? After all, don't you have your own-" she lowered her voice to a mere whisper, "-person you want to catch the attention of?"

Kosaki was quiet for a moment, but then she smiled. "No. Today, I want to cheer you on, Ruri-chan. After all, you're always cheering _me_ on, right? I almost never get a chance to do this, so just let me be selfish, okay?"

Ruri couldn't help but let a little pink show on her cheeks as she quickly turned away. "I get it...just do what you want."

* * *

><p>Shuu couldn't help but nod in approval at all of the swimmers as he analyzed all of them. He recognized a few right off the bat from a sports magazine one of his classmates had shared with him once. The rest he had seen through his own research, or even on TV. Ruri would have some serious competition this time around.<p>

Not that he was worried about her. She could take care of herself, and Shuu knew that by personal experience.

He heard Raku talking with Onodera about Ruri's achievements, and couldn't help but add his own input.

"But man, this tournament...this won't be easy for her, with all these heroes gathered here." This statement caught his two friends' attention. He smirked, angling his head slightly. "Take a look over there! That girl over there is called the _Flying Fish of Ukari High School_. She's one of the favorites in this tournament."

He continued to list all of Ruri's other potential rivals. "That one over there is the _Man-Eating Shark of Otori Girls'_. She's the real deal, with several tournaments under her belt. And to top it all...she's here."

Raku turned to see a busty woman with long, flowing hair strutting across the stadium.

"The strongest competitor of this tournament! The supreme victor of the previous tournament, the _Aquatic Butterfly of Shikari Girls' Academy_, Haneko Chounouchi-sama!" He couldn't help but add, "Kuuuuuh what sexy proportions! Sports girls are good too!"

If Ruri was there at the moment, she'd probably kick him in the head. But she wasn't, and so Shuu took good advantage of the opportunity. Even so, he chuckled as he thought of the girl's enraged expressions whenever he'd say something perverted like that.

"Well...there's another celebrity here, too." Shuu grinned, thinking of his other glasses-wearing friend.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me, are you from Bonyari High School? There's something I wish to ask of you."<p>

Ruri turned away from her bag of supplies she was digging through, giving the woman a blank expression. The woman took it as a sign of listening and continued speaking, unaware of who exactly was in front of her.

"The swimmer known as the _Mermaid of Bonyari High School_...is she here today? During middle school, there was a swimmer named Miyamoto who smashed several tournament records. I heard she chose to attend that puny Bonyari, and I had certainly wished to meet her."

Ruri resisted the urge to facepalm. "If you're looking for Miyamoto, she's right here."

The woman froze, digesting her words. "Hm? What? _Huuh?_"

Resist the urge. Resist the urge. Ruri twitched.

"_You're_ Miyamoto? The _Mermaid_ Ruri Miyamoto? What a shabby body! What a pauper of a chest! What a thick body!" The woman gasped dramatically. "Is it perhaps you pursued swimming too far, and due to that you?!"

"You're a rude one, aren't you?" She couldn't help but let the annoyance seep into her voice as she glared at the woman. Okay, so she admitted she was slightly flat-chested compared to people like Seishiro and this woman, but she wasn't _that_ bad!

The woman stopped, realizing how she was sounding. "I apologize for losing my calm. I'm happy that we were able to meet. I am Haneko Chounouchi. They call me the _Aquatic_ _Butterfly. _I'm a bit of a celebrity."

Ruri immediately matched Haneko's nickname with the stroke she knew. "Butterfly? Then for the upcoming freestyle event, are you going to..."

"Fufufu, but of course! I will be using the front crawl!"

The black-haired girl nearly fell over, but quickly regained her posture. "Oh, I see."

She was faintly aware of the '_kyaa_'s and '_Haneko-sama~_'s echoing from the stands as Haneko turned away. "I'm glad I was able to say hello. I'm looking forward to seeing the Mermaid compete."

"You're very popular," Ruri noted.

"Fu...charisma is always something that fascinates people." Smirking a little, the woman added, "Compared to mine, your gallery seems a bit too sad."

Ruri didn't have to turn around to hear the faint cheers of her friends. "It doesn't matter. It's not like anything is different because there are people cheering you on."

"Hmph, excuses. There's a lot of power in cheers. I'll be showing you so."

* * *

><p><em>"And now, we will be starting the preliminary 400 meter freestyle. On your mark..."<em>

Ruri bent down in a crouching position on the white diving board, arms tense as she let her two forefingers rest on the edge of the platform. She was _not_ going to lose to that woman.

_"Get set..."_

She inhaled once, not allowing her beating heart to distract her as she waited for the final signal.

_Bang!_ A gun sounded, firing in the air.

Ruri launched off the platform and went into a diving formation. She hit the water, cold and clear. Not wasting a second, she formed her right hand into a curve and bent her elbows, using all of her strength to finish the race using the front crawl. Everything else around her seemed to disappear as she stared at the bottom of the pool while swimming. Her arms and legs moved almost automatically. _Up, down. Up, down._

She reached the end of the pool, slamming her hand into the wall to make sure the sensor caught her finish. Ruri tried to catch her breath as her head turned from side to side, seeing if anyone else finished before her.

There was one, unfortunately. And of all people, it was the woman she was talking to before, Haneko Chounouchi.

She resigned herself to climb out of the water. By the time she was out and on one knee, Haneko was standing up victoriously, hair already out of a swim cap and goggle-free.

_"Err... the results are passing through the preliminaries are Haneko Chounouchi in first place and Ruri Miyamoto in second!"_

"Looks like you're all talk, miss Mermaid. Go on, say something if you're mad." Her opponent taunted.

"I'm fine. I'm not really mad." Ruri really wasn't. As disappointing as it was not being able to shut the woman up, she didn't really care about winning or losing the competition. After all, it was just her hobby.

Haneko obviously didn't believe her. "Hmph, what a simple excuse. I wonder if you'll still say the same thing after the finals."

Getting a little cocky, wasn't she? Ruri stared at her before sighing and standing up. Haneko seemed a little disappointed in the lack of...well, disappointment in Ruri, but she quickly turned back to her mob of fans and waved at them. Her fangirls went crazy, hurting Ruri's eardrums as they screamed.

They started walking back to where they left their clothes when Ruri noticed a sports drink can lying on the floor. She shot a glance to the swimmer walking next to her, but it seemed like Haneko was too preoccupied with her fans to notice.

Should she help her? Haneko hadn't done anything to make her feel obligated to help, but not helping her would be wrong. Ruri looked back and forth from the can and Haneko.

Curse her conscience.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Give me a hug. I love you guys. Thank you so much for reviewing~! I really didn't expect anyone to because it has been a while since I updated this fic, but I'm really happy you all took to effort to do so. Just in case you're wondering, the chapter used was Ch. 102.**

**And now for the reviews! This is for everyone who's reviewed so far:**

_**KeepLovingStars**_**: Don't sulk in a corner. If it makes you feel better, almost all of us fangirls are single. Including me. Thank you so much for reviewing!**

_**FlowersandFun**_**: Yeah, Ruri and Shuu are pretty underappreciated. There are officially 3 fanfiction on them the last time I checked, including this one. I actually do appreciate this couple more than any Raku pairing, too. You think it's realistic and grammatically correct? Aww, thanks.**

_**Punitor567: **_**Thanks for informing me on the latest chapter~! I kind of missed a bunch of chapters and had to catch up, but now I'm back to speed. I'm glad you think so highly of my writing, thank you!**

**_AniMeann44_: I support Chitoge and Raku too! Although I do wish that Chitoge had some more character development. XD Onodera's cool and all too, but she's a little too bland for me. Not like that'll stop me from writing about her, after all, Ruri is her best friend.**

**_LoveGlutton_: I'm not really sure how to reply to that. XD But yeah, the Kyoko-sensei arc is when I started to see Ruri and Shuu, so I started the story there. It's strange to have Shuu in love with her, and it's even stranger for Ruri to be in love with him. (Or is it?)**

**_LightRayPearlshipper: _And it seems like we have a Pokemon fan in our midst! (Sorry, just had to say that. I love it too.) You believe my grammar's good? Thank you! And I wouldn't say _all_ Nisekoi fanfiction have bad grammar...just some of them. Or maybe a little more.  
><strong>

_**Hxnim Nxtra: **_**And I reply to this as: thank you thank you thank you for reviewing! I'm so glad all of you like the story.**

_**objection234:**_** I'm so grateful you like the story that much! Thanks!**

_**MysticBlackLynx: **_**Well, as you can see, the story's ongoing. It's thanks to all of your support that I continued it. So THANK YOU SO MUCH for reviewing!**

**And that wraps up the review-reviews. That sounds strange. Hm...**

_**Ja mata ne!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I am really grateful to all of you who read this story. No, really, I am. You don't know how all your support gives me inspiration.**

**This is a filler/noncanon/special chapter I typed up for everyone while I'm typing up the main story.**

**I don't own Nisekoi.**

* * *

><p>"Ruri-chan!" Kosaki waved at her friend excitedly. "Ruri-chan, behind you!"<p>

Her friend turned around, and she stopped dead in her tracks. "Ruri...chan?"

"What, Kosaki?" Ruri asked, resigning herself to her inevitable doom.

"Y-your glasses! Oh gosh, did you lose them again? Break them? Leave them at home? C-come on! We still have 20 minutes before school starts; we can go run to your house and grab them." Kosaki rambled as she fiddled with her hands nervously.

"Kosaki." Ruri's blunt voice interrupted her rant. "I'm wearing _contacts_."

"A-ah, I see." She giggled nervously, observing her friend's new look. "It's just a little strange to see you without glasses."

"Oh, should I not next time?" Ruri tilted her head. The only reason she was wearing these were because she'd left her glasses case in school, and as soon as she got there she would change out of them.

"No! I-I mean...you look really pretty this way, Ruri-chan." Kosaki stammered.

_Still need more work on the stammering problem. _Ruri sighed. "Let's go then."

"S-sure!"

**O_O_O_O**

"Oh Ruuuuriiiiii-chaaaaaaaaaan~!" Shuu stretched out the last few syllables of her name. "What are you-ah, contacts? You look weird."

Ruri turned around, her eyebrow twitching. She would not kick Maiko. She would _not_ kick him even though he was _inchingclosertoherandmakinghersquirm_. She stood up, and Shuu quickly jumped back. "Hehe, you know that was a compliment, right?"

"Because _obviously_ calling me weird is a compliment, Maiko," she replied scathingly.

"Why, of course!"

Resisting the urge to facepalm (because that was just too cliche), she sat back down and waited patiently for the teacher to arrive.

**O_O_O_O**

"Ruri-chan, you look really pretty!" A red ribbon bobbed up and down.

"I suppose she is alright...but not as beautiful as me, right Raku-sama?" Tachibana flipped her red hair.

"Ojou will always be the best in my eyes, but I must say you look nice as well." Seishiro nodded her head approvingly.

"I told you that you looked nice, Ruri-chan." Her bashful friend smiled.

All of her friends—were they her friends?—surrounded her as Ruri tried to somehow sink in her chair and not be seen. She was uncomfortable being in the spotlight of attention. Ruri was just fine being the backstage person, the one that helped other people shine. She wasn't one who liked to be in the limelight.

She thanked them all several times, but it seemed like the small crowd surrounding her was _growing_ and although Ruri had never been claustrophobic, she felt herself sinking even lower in her chair as she tried to disappear. Her eyes swept over the crowd before finally giving a sigh and a weary smile to all of them. "Everyone, thank you for your compliments, but I'm afraid class is about to start."

They all quickly dispersed and went to their seats, and Ruri reveled in the short moment of peace. But then, her lips pursed and she tried to focus on the teacher's words instead of the little voice in her head.

_He wasn't in the crowd._

**O_O_O_O**

"You know, you really look different without your glasses. Why don't you wear contacts more often?" Kiraski asked, humming a tune under her breath as she walked with Ruri in the hallways.

"...I suppose it's always been more trouble than what it's worth." She shrugged. In all honesty, she'd never really thought about it. Contacts always seemed like such a hassle to her, so she never bothered.

"But you look so preeeettty~!" The girl squealed, circling around her. "I just can't get over it! Like, you look nice with glasses too, but this is just...amazing!"

"...thank you?"

"We should really have a get together, just us girls. You know?" The blonde chattered on excitedly, waving her hands in the air wildly. "That would be so much _fun_!"

"I suppose," Ruri murmured her agreement, allowing herself to smile a little bit at the girl's antics. "You are very honest, aren't you Kirisaki-san?"

"Eh?" The girl stopped, and chuckled a little. "That depends, I suppose. You're very observant, aren't you Ruri-chan? And just call me Chitoge! We're friends, right?"

Were they? Ruri mulled over the question for a moment before nodding resignedly. "Alright, Chitoge-san."

**O_O_O_O**

Ruri walked up the steps to the rooftop, intending to find a place where she wouldn't be stared at. The attention just...bothered her. She preferred peace and quiet.

It seemed like someone else had the same idea. As soon as she opened the door, she stood there, unsure of what to do. The person didn't turn around as he silently observed the sunset. _How cliche._ Ruri almost snorted. Nevertheless, words slipped out of her mouth. "Maiko."

He turned around and gave her a cheery smile. "Ah, Ruri-chan! To what do I owe the pleasure of-"

"Cut with the crap," she interrupted, eyebrows narrowing as green eyes met gold. She voiced the question that had been plaguing her mind for most of the day. "Why have you been avoiding me?"

His act dropped. "You were always very straight to the point, weren't you, Ruri-chan..." He seemed to think about her question for a minute, and then sighed while rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "How do I word it...you're just not you that way, Ruri-chan. Sure, you look nice this way. But the Ruri I know is an observent, tsundere-"

She aimed for his head, but he dodged it swiftly and continued. "-glasses wearing buddy."

Trying to ignore the slight warmth in her chest because of the last comment, she maintained her stoic expression as she kicked at him again.

"That's not very nice you know~!" Shuu teased.

"..."

"...Ruri-chan?"

She turned around and started walking towards the exit of the rooftop, taking long strides. Finally, once her hand enclosed the doorknob, she looked back and said, "Thanks Maiko."

"Eh? No problem."

As she headed back to the classroom, she made a detour to the bathroom. After taking off the contacts, she slipped back on her glasses and basked in the familiar feeling of wearing them. Ruri stared in the mirror for a second at her reflection, and finally then let herself smile. "Glasses buddies, huh?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And...finished.**

**Thank you to _Putinor567, LightRayPearlshipper, KeepLovingStars, Hmnix Nxtra, objection234, Flowersandfun, Araka, _and _StreamMik_ for reviewing! I think I'm going to start PM-replying to reviews if possible to keep the chapters true to their word count. Also thank you to everyone else who reads this~!**_  
><em>

**Oh...and to anyone who celebrates it, Happy (early) Thanksgiving!**

**edit: Thanks to _Hxnim Nxtra_ who pointed some loopholes I missed.**


End file.
